Chapter 54: Dungeon Practice (4)
Chapter 54: Dungeon Practice (4)
“Did you leave Carla’s mana core intact, Yandel?”
It had been nearly a week since I heard those words, yet I still hadn't given Elisha an answer.
Elisha, perhaps not expecting a response in the first place, had simply offered a meaningful smile and treated me as she always did afterward.
But that only made it weigh on my mind even more.
“Ugh...”
I was practicing drawing magic circles before bed when Elisha’s knowing voice suddenly echoed in my head, causing a sigh to escape my lips.
Perhaps she heard me.
“Slurp... Hm? Is something wrong, Master? Did my teeth graze you?”
Carla poked her head out from under the desk. I gently stroked her platinum-blonde crown and gave a faint smile.
“No. You’re doing great, Carla. I think we’re almost there, though.”
“Ah! Leave it to me, Master!”
Carla vanished back under the desk.
Slurp, suck.
Splurt.
Having finished her task, Carla crawled out from under the desk and wiped the corners of her mouth.
“Phew...”
“Good work. But you’ve got a hair stuck there.”
“Oh, really? Thank you for letting me know, Master.”
After meticulously cleaning up, Carla moved behind me and began to lightly knead my shoulders.
Squeeze, squeeze.
The muscles that had grown stiff from sitting at the desk since after school were unraveled in an instant, sending a tingling wave of pleasure through me.
“Ooh...?”
She wasn't even pressing that hard, yet it felt incredibly refreshing. My body, already a bit languid from the climax, went limp as I surrendered myself to Carla’s touch.
“Wow... this is amazing. Why are you so good at massages? It’s not like you’ve done this before.”
“Hehe. Back when I was buried in magic circle studies, my shoulders were always stiff. I used to get massages from the attendants all the time... I’m just imitating them.”
Carla spoke playfully, but it felt like much more than mere imitation. I took a moment to enjoy the sensation of her slender fingers pressing into my shoulders and the feeling of her 'generosity' pressing against the back of my head.
As I relaxed, Carla’s soft voice drifted into my ear.
“Master. Are you still worried about Elisha?”
“Yeah... I guess so.”
Setting aside the fact that she noticed Carla’s mana core—I hadn't been trying that hard to hide it anyway. It was a secret that relied entirely on the social convention that a slave’s core is destroyed to prevent them from using mana or aura. The moment someone actually grew suspicious, it wouldn't take long to figure out.
However, I couldn't understand Elisha’s subsequent behavior.
Why was she staying quiet even after realizing Carla’s mana core was intact?
I expected her to pester me for a duel with Carla, or offer to buy her for several times her price.
But instead...
‘Hmm. I see. Yandel, I’m starting to like you even more.’
She had simply said that and tried to recruit me a bit more aggressively than usual, without making any specific demands.
Between the way she’d been shielding me in ways I didn't even know about and her silence regarding Carla’s core... if her intention was to make me feel indebted to her, she had certainly succeeded.
After all, here I was, agonizing over her.
Carla, however, seemed to be focused on something else entirely.
“Hmm... our chests are about the same size, or maybe mine are a bit bigger... Is it the thighs? I heard Elves have very firm thighs because they run around the forest so much as children. Should I start exercising now...?”
“What?”
“Oh, it’s not the thighs? Then is it the drill-hair? It’s hard to maintain, but if it’s just for occasional use, my hair is long enough to pull it off!”
“Wait, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You said you were worried about Elisha.”
“......”
That’s not what I meant by 'worried.'
I tilted my head all the way back to look at Carla standing behind me, dumbfounded. But Carla just blinked her ruby eyes innocently and tilted her head.
“Was that not what you meant?”
“Not even close...?”
“Then I don’t have to dress up like Elisha?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say out loud, but if I have to be blunt, I like Carla just the way she is.”
“Gasp...!”
After our confused back-and-forth, Carla suddenly clutched her heart and staggered.
“M-Master... please say that one more time!”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“Not that part, the next part...!”
“I’m saying that part is embarrassing!”
I only said it because I got swept up in the moment; saying it intentionally was a different story!
But Carla, unwilling to give up, rubbed her chest against the back of my head and pleaded.
“You said you liked the nun cosplay last time, so why not an Elisha cosplay? Why? I don’t understand... Do you think I shouldn't do the nun cosplay anymore either?”
“No, that’s not it!”
Was she really trying to negotiate with that?
I felt a surge of... I don't know, annoyance? Spite? I turned around, ready to give her a piece of my mind.
“Hehehe...”
But seeing her grinning like she’d just taken some dangerous drug, all the wind left my sails.
“...Should I just get back to studying magic circles?”
“You’re not going to tell me...?”
Carla looked as dejected as if she’d lost her country. Feeling a bit sorry for her, I added one more thing.
“If I finish today’s portion, I’ll keep telling you until we go to sleep.”
“Wait! You said there’d be no night service today because we have to go into the dungeon tomorrow and need to sleep early!”
“The faster I finish studying, the more time we’ll have left.”
“...Is there any part you don’t understand? If you’re stuck, tell me immediately!”
Carla became hyper-proactive. She seemed even more motivated now than when she was researching the Shining Lion Dagger.
Feeling a bit dazed, I nodded and showed her a few magic circles I had drawn in my notebook.
“For starters, I’ve memorized all the magic circles for the spells I’ve learned.”
“...You’ve memorized them all already? Magic circles are basically pure memorization, so if you’ve mastered that, you shouldn't be stuck on anything.”
A magic circle is like a visual chant.
If chanting increases a spell’s power, a magic circle is an element that helps use magic more precisely or in unconventional ways. That was why I drew a circle with my finger when I first learned basic magic.
Anyone who sees a closed circle naturally focuses on the inside of it. It’s much easier to imagine fire blooming inside a circle than just appearing in mid-air.
In essence, magic circles incorporate visual elements that humans subconsciously react to into magic.
Since squares give a rigid impression, square shapes are often used in earth-type magic. Since curves and circles feel fluid, rounded shapes are used for water or wind magic.
Of course, if you dig deeper, it gets complicated—rough lines versus smooth lines, and so on. But ultimately, it’s based on the common human subconscious, so there is a general framework.
If you can memorize all of that and combine them appropriately, you’re halfway there.
The other half involves filling the circle with your own personal symbols rather than common subconscious ones... but I still had a long way to go before reaching that level.
Regardless, magic circles require an immense amount of memorization, but I had the Excellent Memory trait.
I remembered every magic circle I’d seen while playing H&A, as well as everything Carla and the Academy professors had taught me.
It was natural for Carla to be surprised, but the part I was stuck on was something else entirely.
“Look at this.”
I extended one hand forward and cast Fireball with a simple chant.
Even without much effort, a red magic circle naturally deployed over my hand. A few geometric shapes were enclosed within the circle, and a fist-sized fireball bloomed above it.
“What about it, Master? It looks perfectly formed to me. The speed was fast, too.”
“I suppose.”
Thanks to the System Correction, as long as I knew how to use it properly, a certain level of quality was guaranteed.
“But isn't this too easy to read? I feel like any mage who’s studied even a little would immediately know what spell I’m about to use.”
“Aha. You’re right. There are people who can discern a spell just by looking at the opponent’s magic circle. I can do it to some extent as well.”
“Exactly. So I tried to encrypt it by swapping some of the common symbols with ones only I would recognize... but it’s not easy.”
“It wouldn't be. It’s no simple task to create a shape that gives a specific impression while hiding its true essence from others. In some cases, these are passed down as the secrets of specific schools or Magic Towers.”
Carla nodded a few times, then puffed out her chest with a smug expression.
“But who am I? I’m your loyal slave, Carla Lindelheit! I’ll teach you all the magic circles used by the Lindelheit family and how to interpret them! These are the secrets of secrets, passed down only from mouth to mouth, and I’m the only one who knows them now!”
“Oh...!”
There was such a thing?
This meant I could inherit the legacy of the Lindelheit family instead of having to start from scratch. Whether I used them as they were or drew inspiration from them to create my own symbols, it would be much better than my current situation.
Actually, some of the characters' magic circles in H&A had those special patterns... but since I didn't know the interpretation, I only knew what they looked like.
Thinking once again that buying Carla was the best decision I’d ever made, I waited for her next words with a racing heart.
“Ah, but I can’t right now.”
“Why?!”
She got my hopes up this high and now she wasn't going to tell me?
As I glared at her in frustration, Carla leaned her face close to mine with a devious smile.
“I told you, didn't I? They’re passed down from mouth to mouth.”
She then pouted her lips and tapped them.
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at Carla’s blatant suggestion.
“Is once enough?”
“I’d like once per symbol, please.”
Fine by me.
The next day, after a night of studying so intense my lips were nearly blistered, the dungeon practice finally began.